Whether it’s soccer, basketball, lacrosse or any other sport, the best players on each of these teams are often seen as the most talented students at this school. But talent isn’t only classified by athletic ability. What about art? Academics? Leadership? These skills are just as impressive, yet don’t get even a fraction of the recognition. This has to change.
No valid argument could be made against the fact that athletic skills are extremely formidable. Not everyone can score 30 points in one high school basketball game or hit a home run or do a perfect dive off a three-meter board without talent and years of hard work and dedication. Not everyone can run, kick and defend for a whole 90 minute soccer game. These talents and accomplishments are a testament to how hard athletes work physically and mentally.
But what about the musicians who have spent hours, days, years on mastering their instruments? Or the painters who have sat at an easel their whole lives to master landscapes, portraits or still-life paintings? Like athletes, these incredibly skilled people spend years and exert loads of energy to master their talents. But unlike athletes, people don’t celebrate their dedication.
Recognizing people who are artistically talented more doesn’t mean celebrating athletics less. There should be balance. Cheer on the football team on Fridays, but also go to a band or a capella concert when you can. What’s important is recognizing that there are more talents to celebrate than just athletics.
This means that on top of spending time on mastering one or more instruments, musicians are actually improving their cognitive abilities as well. This is all the more reason to praise these artistic people for their talent.
Junior Megan Lomotan is not only a multi-varsity athlete, but also plays the piano and guitar, and sings for this school’s a cappella group. For someone as well rounded as her, finding balance between athletic and musical talent is crucial. Lomotan said, “I think it’s very important to involve yourself musically on top of sports because it allows you to express yourself in very different ways. I love playing sports and it’s always been my most prominent passion, but they are also very demanding physically and mentally. Being able to step back from that and sing or play instruments not only makes me happy, but sends aside time for me to relax and do a variety of hobbies so I don’t get burnt out.”
Musical talent can also be associated with higher IQ levels. According to the NIH, “Many studies have shown a link between musical training, intelligence, and verbal abilities in general and verbal memory in particular.”
The festival of the arts on May 20, 21 and 22 was held to showcase artistic talent at this school. At this festival, different musical groups performed such as band and a capella and art students displayed their artwork such as paintings in the gym. Since the sound system didn’t work properly, attendance dwindled quickly. People left the main area where performances were held and either went to the fashion show in the Commons, the arts showcase or just left. Freshman Ashlyn Roberts was supposed to perform with her guitar class, but since the sound system malfunctioned she couldn’t. Roberts said, “As a class we practiced a lot and spent a lot of time on the songs, so I was disappointed that we didn’t get to perform because of technical difficulties.”
In recognizing other skills besides athletics more, we allow these talented students and hard work to be celebrated. The main problem is the stigma on arts. People think it is normal to disregard arts because so many at this school do, but it should be the opposite. Arts performances and shows such as plays should have as much of an audience as basketball and football games because these people work just as hard.
